James ‘Lights Out’ Toney once revealed the greatest opponent of his illustrious professional boxing career.
The Michigan-native, known for his toughness and impressive defensive abilities, became a world champion in three weight classes between 1988 and 2017.
Toney rose to prominence during the 1990s where he would reign as the IBF world champion at middleweight and super-middleweight, defeating the likes of Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley and Michael Nunn during this period.
‘Lights Out’ later made the move up to cruiserweight where he produced arguably the best win of his career, defeating Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Jirov to capture the IBF world title at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Toney was asked to name the best fighter he faced during his tenure, naming none other than three-weight world champion Mike McCallum.
“Mike McCallum – That’s an easy choice, right off the top of my head it’s the Body Snatcher. He was the best fighter I fought at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight. Out of all the fighters I fought, I respect him the most because he made me think about everything I tried to do. Before McCallum I was just runnin’ in on everyone, but he made me slow down and think for the first time.”
Jamaican great McCallum is often credited with being one of the best fighters of his generation which saw him become a world champion at super-welterweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight.
He shared the ring with a number of legendary fighters along the way, including the likes of Steve Collins, Donald Curry, Milton McCrory and Roy Jones Jr prior to his retirement from the sport in 1997.
